Last week, highly coveted Orlando Magic free agent Hedo Turkoglu visited the Portland Trail Blazers, and apparently left the Pacific Northwest after agreeing to a 5-year, $50M deal. Or so they thought.

Over the next 48 hours, Turkoglu backed out of his verbal commitment to Portland and instead agreed upon a five-year, $53M deal with the more Euro-friendly Toronto Raptors organization. But why this sudden change of heart?

Yahoo! Sports sources believe that Hedo’s wife may be the culprit for this blatant reneging of his deal in Portland. Apparently, his wife refused to accompany the talented small forward on his recruiting trip to Portland, sending him alone to make his own decisions.

Upon hearing that he had made an agreement to sign there, she insisted that he choose to sign in a more cosmopolitan city that is littered with European diversity that will provide the couple with a bevy of Turkish shops, restaurants, and fellow inhabitants.

Can you blame a guy for exercising his right to use free agency as an opportunity to move to a city where he’d rather live for five years? No.

But you can blame a guy for agreeing to be a key cog in a team’s quest to build a contender, then backs out of a deal with his tail between his legs, all because his wife stole his manhood and forced him to go to another city (of her liking) that he didn’t even visit on a recruiting trip!?  I think the answer is yes.

Pat Riley masterminded a brilliant trade as the Miami Heat traded Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Toronto Raptors for Jermaine O’Neal, Jamario Moon, and a lottery-protected first round draft pick. Basically he dominated former NBA Executive of the Year, Bryan Colangelo, and now has a team that can make some waves in the East this postseason. This trade is so much better for the Heat on so many levels. (more…)

With the 2008-09 NBA season set to begin this week, COED is doing its best to prepare fans with what to watch for during the new season (besides the NBA cheerleaders). Our first look into the league will identify the top five youngsters who are primed to bust out this season and put up bigger numbers than expected. Without further adieu, the top 5 players you can expect a breakout season from. (more…)